July 12/09 8:47 am - TOur de Delta: Stage 1

Posted by Editoress on 07/12/09

Jazz Apple big winners at Tour de Delta Criterium

Jazz Apple Cycling had that podium to themselves in the 40-lap women's race. The New Zealand-based team swept on Saturday, with Kiwi Lauren Ellis winning ahead of Dotsie Bausch, a two-time US National champion, and Vancouver's Steph Roorda.

Roorda was actually out alone with about 10 laps remaining, and stayed away for about five laps before finally being reeled in. Ellis and Bausch took over from there, breaking away with four laps left and staying away all the way to the finish line.

“Dotsie just yelled at me to go, so I just do what I'm told,” Ellis, 20, said of her 36-year-old teammate. “Me and Dotsie just tried to keep the pace up and take it to them and let it out and keep the pace nice and high to get the gap as big as possible.”

That gap was almost 20 seconds by the time Ellis, who won silver at the 2009 World Track Championships in Poland, and Bausch crossed the line. And when the rest of the field approached it, Roorda had enough left to win a bunch sprint for third place, giving the powerful Jazz Apple squad complete control of Saturday's podium.

“Steph got a really good break and we were really hoping she'd stay out there because we wanted her to get a win in her hometown,” Ellis said of Roorda, the lone Canadian on Jazz Apple. “And then when she got caught, I just happened to get on Dotsie's wheel and she just went for it and we worked really well together and stayed away. … Ultimately we wanted Steph to win the race but there's lots more racing left.”

Ellis also leads the Overall and Best Young Rider classifications ahead of Laura Brown (Local Ride Racing), who won the women's MK Delta Prologue Friday night.